Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothin' else
He'd trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she is bad, he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down
When a man loves a woman
He'd spend his very last dime
Just trying to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way
Baby that's the way it ought to be
When this man loves
When this man really loves a woman
I give you everything, I mean everything
Baby everything I got
Just trying to hold on
To your precious love
Baby, baby please
Please don't treat me bad, oh
Wow Michael
You know that was pretty sensational
But I have a slighty different take on things
This is a man's world
This is a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Nothing
Without a woman or a girl
You see
Man made the cars
To take us over the road
Man made the trains
To carry the heavy load
Man made the electric light
To take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water
Like Noah made the ark
This is a man's world, a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing, nothing
Without a woman or a girl
When a man loves a woman
Man makes them happy
'Cause man makes them toys
When a man loves a woman, yeah
You know that man makes that money
To buy from another man
The world would mean nothing without a woman
Woman or a girl, oh yeah
When a man loves
This is a man's world, oh it's a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Not one little thing
Without, without a woman or a girl
You know I need (I need)
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Not one little thing
This is a man's world (when a man loves a woman)
Can't keep his mind on nothin' else
He'd trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she is bad, he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down
When a man loves a woman
He'd spend his very last dime
Just trying to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way
Baby that's the way it ought to be
When this man loves
When this man really loves a woman
I give you everything, I mean everything
Baby everything I got
Just trying to hold on
To your precious love
Baby, baby please
Please don't treat me bad, oh
Wow Michael
You know that was pretty sensational
But I have a slighty different take on things
This is a man's world
This is a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Nothing
Without a woman or a girl
You see
Man made the cars
To take us over the road
Man made the trains
To carry the heavy load
Man made the electric light
To take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water
Like Noah made the ark
This is a man's world, a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing, nothing
Without a woman or a girl
When a man loves a woman
Man makes them happy
'Cause man makes them toys
When a man loves a woman, yeah
You know that man makes that money
To buy from another man
The world would mean nothing without a woman
Woman or a girl, oh yeah
When a man loves
This is a man's world, oh it's a man's world
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Not one little thing
Without, without a woman or a girl
You know I need (I need)
But it wouldn't mean nothing
Not one little thing
This is a man's world (when a man loves a woman)
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
When a Man Loves a Woman/It's a Man's Man's Man's World Lyrics as written by Andrew James Wright Calvin Houston Lewis
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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